It was inevitable that, after the smash hit The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), a sequel would go into production. So, it is no surprise that they wanted to go bigger and bring in more characters from the Mario and Nintendo universe. What I did not expect was The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which does not deliver a Super Mario Galaxy-type story. It is for sure to make money again this holiday weekend, but I begin to wonder if movies like this keep making great money, what will happen to the industry overall?
What is unfortunate is that this film’s main story is as simple as you can get, and its characters are so paper-thin that it makes you question what the film’s intention is for its audience. Does it just want to be nostalgic for audiences with the known music cues and characters we have come to know and love? It seems that way based on the film’s output.
We move from scene to scene at a blazing pace, given how many characters are involved in the short 98-minute run time. That simple plot also gets pushed aside for action set pieces to keep the audience’s attention. This ideology not only distrusts the audience’s ability to engage with the movie’s plot but also assumes they need to add so many action pieces to woo the audience, because they know how bare-bones the story is structurally. Which then leads them to splitting up our main group of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Yoshi, so they don’t have to focus on one main storyline until our group regroups at the end for the “overarching plot” of saving Rosalina.
What made the previous entry get away with a fast-paced and simple plot was that you had the opportunity to introduce all these characters and set up their basic dynamics from the games. It works when most of the first film is meandering and world-building until the final confrontation with Bowser.
What makes this second entry confusing is just redoing this formula because you must introduce more characters and worlds, and by doing this, you don’t strengthen the world and characters you have already established. It is frustrating to watch an animated film ‘dumb it down’ and forget that it can be imaginative, colorful, and 3D, with compelling characters and themes.
This is not just a problem for animated films, either, as it has reached into live-action features as well. The biggest perpetrator in this sort of action-first, storytelling-and-characters-later, dynamic is Netflix. This is a worrisome trend within the medium. Do studios not trust audiences anymore to make it through a two-hour action film, let alone a ninety-minute animated feature? Which goes back to why movies like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doing well inherently hurts where movies can go. To the studios, seeing the money this movie will make leads them to believe more films need to be structured this way.
For a story about saving Rosalina, another disservice is how lackluster Rosalina’s role is, as Fox McCloud ends up having more screentime. With that, Glen Powell is great as Fox McCloud, and a majority of the voice cast is doing sublime work. The only letdown is Chris Pratt, who returns as Mario and seems to be here for a paycheck.
If anything, Illumination is known for how great its animation looks. This film is no different. The various worlds the characters travel to are so vibrant and well-developed. Everything looks so fresh and colorful, and I am thankful that animators put so much time and effort into making the movie look this good. I wish the studio would put as much time and effort into the story as they do into the animation.
At the end of the day, if you grew up playing the Mario games and are just here to see all your favorite characters come to life, then you will love this. What is worrisome is this type of surface-level fan-service-type storytelling that does well at the box office. Plot beats are too familiar and expected in both animated and live-action sequels and remakes. As Netflix has been lauded with heavy criticism for having similar structural beats to Mario, audiences have been upset by this structure. Time will tell whether movies like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie improve or if we are on a scary trajectory for storytelling. It makes me wonder what audiences want from movies now more than ever. It is a confusing time, and we will see an answer to this soon.
Review Courtesy of Jacob Diedenhofer
Feature Image Courtesy of Illumination and Nintendo